Artificial limb



R. TRAUMAN.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. ll. 19H1.

1,326,883. v Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

fm/e/v for: Fay Zrau ma/7? /Is WHO/"nega R. TRAUTMAN.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB.

APPLICATION man 0m11.191s.

Patented Dec. 30,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEE12 RAY TRAUTMAN, 0F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

ARTIFICIAL LIMB.

Application filed` December 11, 1918.

To all whom t may concern .f

Be it known that I, RAY TRAUTMAN, a citizenv of the United, States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artilicial Limbs0f which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to artificial limbs. An object is to provide for the construction of various parts of such limbs of ystandard size in such manner that the parts may be readily put together to form limbs having any desired circumference and length, accordingvto the particular personwho 1s to be fitted. An object in particular is to construct a fiber shell in such` manner that the limbs may be readily made up from shell members of' uniform size in accordance with the measurements and requirements of any particular person who is to be provided with an artificial limb. Another object is to provide ay strong and durable construction of artificial limbs in which the functions of the natural limb are' closely simulated without the use of complicated mechanism liable to getout of order.

The full objects and advantages ofmy 1nvention will, appear in connection withA the detailed description thereof and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claim.

In'the drawings;-

Figure 1 is a side view showing a thigh, shankVr and foot member for casesfof amputation above the knee. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in vertical section showingthe connection between the knee-block and the shank member. Fig. 3 is a detail at right angles to Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts separated and the knee block in side elevation. Fig. 5 is a view in cross sectionon the line 5-5 of Fig, 2.

,Figa 6 is a View mostly in central vertical section showing the lower portion of the shank member andits. attachment tothe foot member. Fig. 7 is a section on the lme 7-7 rofFig, 6. Fig. 8 isa view inl cross` section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the `positlon assumed by the. foot member when the heel .strikes thefground'xin walking.- Fig. 10` is Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 266,236.

a side view showing a thigh, shank and foot member for cases of amputation below the knee. F ig. 11 is a cross section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail showing the inner socket from the rear.

Referring to the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 9, the drawings show a thigh member 14, a shank member 16, and a foot member 18.` The members 111 and 16 are shells formed of fiber molded into suitable shape of standard size and having the two longitudinal edges Vbrought together at the rear to form an Aoverlapping; joint which may be secured with the desired amount of overlapping by rivets or suitable fasteners 20. A block 22 is secured within the lower front portion of the shank member by screws or fasteners 24; so as to leave a space 26 between the rear of the block and the portion of the shell having the overlapping joint. As shown by dotted lines in Fig. 8 the extent to which the joint is overlapped may be varied and the circumference made greater or smaller as may be desired to accommodate different persons. The inherent resiliency of the fiber permits this to be done before the rivets are secured in place without interfering with the position of the block 22 and the attaching means for the foot member 18. As best shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 9 a metal strip 28 is secured inside of the shank member at each side thereof by screws or rivets 30 and the lower ends of these twostrips are secured to a sleeve or bushing 32 having a seat upon the lower end of the block 22 by which means the sleeve is firmly held in place. A cylindrical member 34 is rotatably mounted in the sleeve and a rod 36 attached to the cylindrical member extends down through a slot 38 in the sleeve and then through a hole in the foot member into a recess 40 with which the bottom of the foot member is provided. The lower end of the rod 36 is screw threaded and is provided with an integral washer l2 and nut 44 to firmly hold the foot member, rockably mounted upon the lower end of the sha-nk member. The lower yrear portion of the block 22 is provided' with a beveled surface 6 and the adjacent top portion of the foot member is provided with a similar beveled surface 4S dlverging from the surface 16. These two beveled surfaces Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

are provided with holes in alinement with each other for receiving the opposite ends .of anl elastic member here shown as a coil spring 50. The portion of the foot member adjacent the lower front portion of the block 22 is cut out and provided with a rubber buffer 52 secured in place by one or more screws 54E. The coil spring 50 normally holds l or other suitable fasteners.

`the foot member in the position shown in Fig.. 6 and in walking when the heel strikes the ground kthe spring is compressed and the foot member moves into the position shown in Fig. 9. When the weight of the wearer is taken olf the heel the footv member turns into the position shown in Fig. 6, the buffer 52 cushioning thismovement. The rear of the foot member may be dressed down at 56 so as to fit nicely within the lower end of the shank member according to the amount of' overlapping of the longitudinal edges thereof. The shank member and the thigh member are secured together by a joint constructed as follows: Knee joint strips 58 are secured to the upper end of the shank member at opposite sides thereof by rivets A knee block 60 has a reduced upper portion G2 which fits into the lower end of the thigh member and is secured thereto by screws or other suitable fastenerst. A rod 66 passes through a hole in the knee block and the ends of this rod pass through holes in the enlarged upper ends 7 0 of the knee straps whereby the shank member is trunnioned to the knee block. The upper end of the shank member may be cut off as indicated by dotted lines a in Fig. t, according to the length desirable for the particular person, and for the same purpose the lower end of the thigh member may becut oil', as desired, in a manner indicated by the dotted lines 7). The knee straps may be secured in propel.' position according to the amount cut oil from the shank member, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4:. The. thigh member 111 may have its longitudinal edges `overlapped the proper amount according to the circumference desired by the wearer, and these edges are then secured by rivets 20. The upper end of the thigh member is provided with a circumferential finishingl piece of leather 72 which may be overlapped, as shown at 74 to an extent corresponding to the amount of i overlapping of the edges of the fiber shell.

rlfhe upper portion of the knee block may be dressed down theproper amount according to the size determined upon for the thigh member. It is thus apparent that these shell members of standard size may be kept in stock and that all parts of the artificial limb may be readily assembled so as to provide the lengthy and circumference which is suitable for any particular person. A foot me ber of any desired size can, of course, be

readily attached 'to the lower end of the shank member in the manner previously described.

In order to control the movement of the shank member the following construction is provided. A bar 7 6 is secured by a pivot pin 7 8 within a slot in the rear portion of the knee block. This bar extends down inside the shank member and an elastic strip 8O is secured at its middle to the lower end of said bar` and the ends of the elastic strip are secured in suitable manner, as by cords 82 to the upper end of the shank member. When the limb is bent at the knee in walking the elastic member will be stretched and when the foot is lifted from thel ground the shank member will be automatically brought forward into alinement with the thigh member. A rubber buffer 84 may be placed on the rear of the lower end of the bar 76 in order to cushion shocks. The thigh member with its attached parts is held to the wearer by the customary suspenders 85.

The previous description relates to artificial limbs for cases of amputation above the knee. -My invention, however, is not limited to limbs `of this character, but may be employed in other cases. For instance, Figs. 10, 11 and 12 illustrate how the adjustable or variable features previously described may be applied to artificial limbs for cases of amputation below the knee. In the construction shown in these latter iigures the lower knee straps 58 are pivotally connected to upper knee straps 86, the upper ends of which are secured to a lacer 88, the latten being connected at the rear with. the shank member by a check strap 90. In artificial limbs of this character inner usually employed. In order that the inner socket 92 which I employ may be adjusted according to the desired circumference I provide this socket with a vertical opening at the rear secured by a lacing 941 by means of which the socket maybe adjusted. The shank member may then be adjusted to it the socket. The length of the shank may be reduced as previously described in order to make it suitable for various persons.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description. Fiber shell members for artificial limbs may bel constructed of sockets are uniform size and limbs may be quickly asan extremely easy matter with the assurance that the circumference and size of the limb will be just 4what is required.

An Vartificial limb comprising'a hollowY shell of resilientmaterial, said shell having of various s izes in stock and renders the it- -f ting of various persons with artiicial' limbs longitudinal edges adapted to be overlapped said shell may be constructed, of standard for zt greater oriless extent, :t separate block size and subsequently given the particular secured within one end of said shell and norcircumference desired, and limb attaching 10 mally spaced suiioiently from the side theremeans supported by seid block.

5 of having said longitudinal edges to permit In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my the maximum desired amount of overlapsignature. ping of said longitudinal edges, whereby RAY TRAUTMAN. 

